Latest political news

Latika Bourke9:33 PM
Christopher Pyne's bid to deregulate tertiary fees has suffered a major setback with the influential Group of Eight universities withdrawing support for any more compromises aimed at securing crossbench support.

Latika Bourke2:53 PM
Former NSW Labor premier Morris Iemma has launched a blistering attack on the Labor Party, saying moves to kick veteran Martin Ferguson out of the party are "petty and vindictive" and shows the party is "intolerant and incapable of embracing divergent views".

Michael Gordon3:36 PM
Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles has been bumped off a VIP jet visit to the Manus Island detention centre after Labor supported a new inquiry into centre operating on Nauru.

Judith Ireland 6:50 PM
There are fears more than 100,000 mothers will be forced to give up work if the Abbott government cracks down on the number of hours parents have to work in order to get childcare subsidies.

Latika Bourke3:38 PM
A crackdown on superannuation concessions received by the wealthy appears to be the next major tax reform, with both sides of politics declaring they are looking to tackle the issue.

Peter Hannam3:37 PM
Australia’s greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector jumped in the September quarter, reversing industry’s declines during the two carbon tax years preceding it, government data shows.

Matthew Knott
Controversial former Labor leader Mark Latham is being sued for defamation over a column in which he accused mothers who take anti-depressants of choosing the "easy way out" and avoiding adult responsibilities.

Gareth Hutchens3:37 PM
Treasurer Joe Hockey says Australian consumers have changed their behaviour so much in recent years, through online shopping and choosing more GST-exempt goods, that they are putting pressure on the GST as a revenue-raiser.

Daniel Flitton
Okay, metadata is bad. I get it. The apprehension, fear of unwarranted state interference, the digital manifestation of Big Brother. But why do Australians ignore an actual scandal involving the use of secret intelligence happening right now?

Michael Gordon It is one word that has proved hard to define and impossible to deliver, but it has underpinned almost every substantial discussion about closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage and achieving reconciliation.

Tony Wright The powerful and the mighty past and present came, of course, and filled The Scots Church and spilled over Russell St Street to St Michael's church, this being the state funeral of a former prime minister.